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Centrelink investigates bushfire fraud claims

Jacqui StreetUpdated
Wed 6 Mar 2013, 7:31 PM AEDT

Two months after bushfires destroyed 400 properties and thousands of hectares of farmland in Tasmania, there are concerns that some homeowners may have fraudulently claimed bushfire assistance. Centrelink has revealed it's investigating more than 100 claims.

Transcript

MARK COLVIN: Two months after bushfires destroyed 400 properties and thousands of hectares of farmland in Tasmania, there are reports that some may have fraudulently claimed bushfire assistance.

Centrelink has revealed it's investigating more than a hundred claims. It's put a sour note on the recovery efforts as residents try to regrow their lives and gardens.

Jacqui Street reports.

JACQUI STREET: At Dunalley in Tasmania's south-east some green thumbs are getting stuck into the ash. Experts from Hobart's botanical gardens are providing advice to bushfire-affected residents on how to restore their veggie patches.

BOTANICAL GARDENS EXPERT: We could give it a soak now. Just a quick soak before we plant we're not doing any more digging now.

JACQUI STREET: With the Dunalley School already rebuilt, and more than 70 destroyed houses now cleared for construction the greening of the area is seen as the next major challenge for the bushfire recovery.

But although the bushfires have highlighted the community's positive side darker elements are also starting to surface. Centrelink has confirmed it's investigating 180 cases of people who may have fraudulently tried to claim bushfire assistance.

Federal Community Services Minister Julie Collins insists it's only a small number out of more than 6000 who received help.

JULIE COLLINS: Centrelink have done a check on it. We make it easy for people to claim at the time, but around 180 or 2.5 per cent of claims need further investigation. Now those 180 that are being further investigated doesn't necessarily mean that they had been fraudulent but they warrant further investigation.

JENNIFER LEE: The experience in other jurisdictions with our colleagues there have been involved in disaster recovery it's often in the reconstruction phase where we'll get what we call travelling con-men who flock to an area and sadly take advantage of people.

JACQUI STREET: Charities insist most people are doing the right thing and there is still genuine need for basic goods and food, two months after the emergency.

Edward Gauden from the Foodbank says he's surprised that so many fire victims are struggling to feed themselves.

EDWARD GAUDEN: It's bizarre people who need help, but there are people that need that help genuinely. There are people also that are taking advantage of it, sad to say but I from Foodbank perspective am not the policeman. If people say that they're in need we will try to assist and we will assist those agencies that want to assist them also.

JACQUI STREET: He says the Foodbank is stretched trying to feed fire victims as well as providing its normal charity hampers, but the organisation's committed to helping those in still struggling.